Fund It, Fix It
A coalition of nonprofits supporting dedicated funding for Metro
January 18, 2018

To: The Honorable Ralph Northam, Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia
      The Honorable Larry Hogan, Governor, State of Maryland
      The Honorable Muriel Bowser, Mayor, District of Columbia
      Sen. Thomas Miller, President, Maryland Senate
      Del. Michael Busch, Speaker, Maryland House of Delegates
      Del. Kirkland Cox, Speaker, Virginia House of Delegates
      Sen. Thomas Norment, Majority Leader, Virginia Senate
      Phil Mendelson, Chairman, District of Columbia Council

Re: A 21st century Metro system

To our Governors, Mayor, and legislative leaders:

Thank you for your leadership. We strongly hope that you will successfully work together to provide $500 million annually
in new, dedicated, and bondable long-term funding for Metro.

We need to restore Metro to safe, reliable, and frequent service in order to maintain the economic competitiveness of our
three states at a time when major corporations and large sections of the workforce are seeking out regions with
extensive, high-frequency transit. Amazon’s transit requirement for its HQ2 and 50,000 employees is just the latest and
most dramatic example.

The economy of our three states depends on Metro and its ability to attract jobs and move people. 54% of Greater
Washington’s jobs are located within a half-mile radius of a Metro station. 86% of new office development in the region is
within a quarter-mile of a Metro station. In Virginia, $600 million in state sales and income taxes annually can
conservatively be attributed to the presence of Metro. Without Metro, we would need to build an additional 1000
lane-miles of highway, knock down hundreds of acres of buildings to add $2 billion worth of parking lots, sit in traffic that
would increase commute times by 25% for the average worker, and continue to pollute our air, making it less healthy to
breathe.

We urge you to reach consensus on Metro funding during the 2018 legislative session in order to avoid further
deterioration of the system and the traffic and economic disruption that would result. We also urge you to meet statewide
transit funding needs to ensure competitive, accessible transit for our cities, suburbs, and rural towns. The success of
our region depends on it.

Sincerely,
Stewart Schwartz
Executive Director
Coalition for Smarter Growth
(703) 599-6437

Brian O’Malley
Executive Director
Central Maryland
Transportation Alliance
(410) 332-1723

Brent Bolin
Chesapeake Regional Director
Clean Water Action
(202) 895-0420

Amy Ginsburg
Executive Director
Friends of White Flint
(301) 919-1609

Kathy McGuire
President
League of Women Voters of the
National Capital Area
(301) 213-6381

Alexandra Dickson
Acting President
League of Women Voters of the
District of Columbia
(202) 276-2589

Elaine Apter
Co-President
League of Women Voters
of Maryland
(301) 438-8707

Richard Willson
Co-President
League of Women Voters
of Maryland
(301) 739-3232

Sue Lewis
President
League of Women Voters of Virginia
(434) 295-1485

Benjamin Orr
Executive Director
Maryland Center on Economic Policy
(410) 412-9105

Michelle Krocker
Executive Director
Northern Virginia Affordable
Housing Alliance
(571) 572-2238

Chris Miller
President
Piedmont Environmental Council
(540) 347-2334

Payton Chung
Board Member and Smart
Growth Committee Chair
DC Sierra Club
(507) 724-8647

Brian Ditzler
Chair
Maryland Sierra Club
(301) 565-0870
John Campagna

Executive Director
1000 Friends of Maryland
(410) 385-2910

Kelsey Crane
Conservation Program Coordinator
Virginia Sierra Club
(703)736-6246

Mary Rafferty
Executive Director
Virginia Conservation Network
(804) 614-7670